Sussex parents urged to learn baby CPR

Parents are being urged to attend infant first aid classes after new research showed only 32 per cent know what to do if their baby stops breathing.

St John Ambulance is running baby first aid courses in the West Sussex between February and April as part of its latest life saving campaign.

St John Ambulance SUS-160122-092824001

The first aid charity has also released a video, starring nursery rhyme characters, which demonstrates how to give Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) to a baby that is unconscious and not breathing.

The video has already received over 1 million online views within the first 48 hours of its launch.

Research commissioned by St John Ambulance, found three out of four mums and dads in the south east said this first aid emergency scared them the most, when given a list of potential dangers that included febrile convulsions, severe allergic reactions and severe bleeding.

A spokesman for St John Ambulance said: “While nearly two-thirds said they had learnt first aid – most from a workplace course – only one in three knew how to treat babies.

“CPR for babies is different from adult CPR, in that only two fingers should be used to give pumps to the baby’s chest and its nose and mouth must be covered by the rescuer’s mouth to give life saving puffs.”

The special courses run by St John Ambulance will last three hours, cost £30 and cover key first aid emergencies for babies and toddlers, as well as how to give CPR.

Last year, St John Ambulance ran a campaign, The Chokeables, to teach parents how to save a child from choking, which led directly to the saving of 46 children.

Sue Killen, CEO at St John Ambulance, said: “The Chokeables was a real step forward for us and the response was amazing.

“We’ve listened to parents and we know that they want to learn first aid skills in a way that’s easy and memorable. That’s what inspired the creation of Nursery Rhymes Inc.

“We know that a major barrier to parents learning is that baby CPR frightens them, so we’ve removed the fear factor and made it as reassuring as possible by making this new video and putting on a set of courses.

“As well as learning the technique themselves, we’re asking everyone to share the video so that all parents, grandparents and carers know what to do in those crucial minutes after a baby has stopped breathing.”